Offseason stuff

Sorry, just couldn't stay away. The Red Wings are up 4-1 on Dallas in Game 6 tonight, so it looks like it will be Detroit vs. Pittsburgh in the who's-lost-more-manufacturing-jobs Stanley Cup finals!!

Anyway, on to Flyers news. According to the good people at nhlnumbers.com, the Flyers have the following player contracts to deal with, along with what they made this season:

UFA:
Jim Dowd - $500K
Riley Cote (UFA VI) - $500K
Jesse Boulerice - $475K
Jason Smith - $1.98M
Vinnie Prospal - $1.9M
Rory Fizpatrick - $550K
Jaroslav Modry - $1.2M

RFA:
R.J. Umberger - $1.2M
Jeff Carter - $942K
Patrick Thoresen - $542K
Ryan Potulny - $643K
Randy Jones - $525K
Nate Guenin - $585K
Stefan Ruzicka - $525K

OK, here's what I think. As far as the UFAs are concerned, I think Paul Holmgren will allow them to test the open market. Riley Cote will more than likely end up staying since he seems to be a fixture anytime we need to smack someone around. There was a rumor earlier this winter that Jason Smith may want to head back to New Jersey to end his career, which is fine. Mike Richards will no doubt take over as captain, and he more than earned it. The RFAs are another story. Any offer made for either Carter or Umberger will net the Flyers some pretty decent compensation. Toronto may send over an offer sheet for Carter, maybe even Vancouver. Umberger had a great playoffs this year and should have raised his stock a bit heading into the offseason. Randy Jones should be back, along with Potulny and Ruzicka for another year with the Phantoms.

Right now, the Flyers have 21 players under contract for about $49.5 million heading into next season. Assuming that the cap will be raised, the Flyers should have some wiggle room to resign players and bring in young talent. I don't see the front office going after a big name free agent, and that's fine with me. Most of the core players are returning, along with Simon Gagne and possibly Claude Giroux (whose Gatineau Olympiques lost 6-3 tonight against Belleville in the Memorial Cup). The future looks really good for Philly, much better than many people give us credit for.

UPDATE - Dallas lost, so the Cup final is set to kick off this Saturday in Detroit. I think Pittsburgh will give Detroit a tough run, but I'm betting on the veteran Red Wings to win it.
Detroit wins the Stanley Cup 4-2